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Developer Tools · head to head

Soketi vs Yoti

Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Yoti logo

Yoti

Cybersecurity

Reusable digital identity, facial age estimation and identity verification

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Soketi has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Soketi maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.; Yoti age estimation returns a probabilistic range rather than a verified date of birth, so it only works with a safety buffer above the legal threshold and cannot prove an exact age.
  • They diverge on capability: Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Yoti covers Facial age estimation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Soketi and Yoti actually diverge.

Attributes where Soketi and Yoti differ
AttributeSoketiYoti
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Soketi

  • Pusher protocol compatibility
  • Presence and private channels
  • Horizontal scaling
  • App management backends
  • Webhooks
  • Prometheus metrics

Only in Yoti

  • Facial age estimation
  • Reusable digital ID
  • Identity verification
  • UK right to work and rent
  • Digital ID for retail
  • Selective disclosure

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Soketi

  • A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot Yoti
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot Yoti
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot Yoti
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot Yoti

Yoti

  • A social platform meeting UK Online Safety Act age assurance duties without collecting identity documents from teenagersnot Soketi
  • A supermarket removing staff interventions at self-checkout for age-restricted purchasesnot Soketi
  • A UK employer running digital right-to-work checks under the certified trust framework rather than inspecting passportsnot Soketi
  • A gambling operator needing an age gate with high completion rates before the account funding stepnot Soketi

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Soketi

  • Maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive.
  • Dependency drift on Node and uWebSockets.js will eventually force you to fork or migrate, and that cost is unbudgeted at the point you adopt it.
  • There is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Scaling beyond a single node needs Redis and careful configuration, and getting presence channels correct across nodes is a genuine source of subtle bugs.
  • It implements the Pusher protocol rather than tracking it, so any protocol feature Pusher adds later will not appear, and the compatibility guarantee slowly decays.

Yoti

  • Age estimation returns a probabilistic range rather than a verified date of birth, so it only works with a safety buffer above the legal threshold and cannot prove an exact age.
  • Estimation accuracy varies by demographic and reported error margins widen at the age bands that matter most for eighteen-year thresholds, which pushes borderline users into a document fallback you still have to pay for.
  • Pricing is not published, so buyers cannot compare the cost of an estimation check against a document check without going through sales.
  • Regulatory acceptance of facial estimation differs by jurisdiction, so a method that satisfies Ofcom may not satisfy a regulator elsewhere and multi-market platforms need more than one approach.
  • The reusable digital identity app depends on consumer adoption, which is meaningful in the UK and thin elsewhere, limiting the reusability benefit outside its home market.

Pricing, plan by plan

Soketi

Free
  • SoketiFree
    • MIT licensed
    • Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
    • No vendor billing

Yoti

On request
  • Yoti Age and Identity Services$undefined/year
    • Per-check pricing quoted by volume and method
    • Age estimation, document verification and digital ID priced differently
    • Right to work and right to rent checks quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Soketi if

  • You need pusher protocol compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want presence and private channels.
Soketi review

Choose Yoti if

  • You need facial age estimation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want reusable digital id.
Yoti review

Questions people ask

Is Soketi or Yoti better?
Neither clearly leads. Soketi starts at Free and Yoti at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Soketi or Yoti?
Soketi has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Soketi and On request for Yoti.
Does Soketi or Yoti run on more platforms?
Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Yoti runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
Can I use Soketi for free?
Yes. Soketi has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yoti starts at On request.
What is Soketi best used for?
Soketi is most often used for a laravel application that already uses echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime provider, realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasons, a local or ci environment that needs a pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid account, a high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure bill. Of those, a laravel application that already uses echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime provider and realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasons are not what Yoti is typically brought in for.
What can Soketi do that Yoti cannot?
Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends. Yoti covers Facial age estimation, Reusable digital ID, Identity verification, UK right to work and rent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Soketi: Is Soketi still maintained?

Barely. The maintainer has stated that available time is very limited and releases have been sparse; treat it as community-maintained.

Yoti: Does age estimation store my face?

The image is used to produce an estimate and then deleted rather than retained, which is the specific property that makes it usable for age assurance on minors.

Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

Yoti: Is it accepted for UK Online Safety Act compliance?

Facial age estimation is one of the methods regulators have accepted as highly effective age assurance. Confirm the current position with your own counsel for your content category.

Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

Yoti: Can it prove someone is exactly 21?

No. It gives a range. If you need a precise age you need a document or database check, which Yoti also sells.

Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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